Quick Drive: Subaru WRX STI is Still a Neat Rally Car for the Street

Recently my commute was a Subaru WRX STI, around our place for a First Drive coming up in our November issue. As Patrick Hong will tell you, the WRX "grows up a bit, but still loves dirt-tracking!"

It happens there are no dirt tracks readily available—at least legally—between here and home, but my drive of this new WRX STI reminded me that it's still a neat rally car for the street. The STI has always had, and still retains, a wonderfully honest mechanical feel. It's clearly a machine, not an assembled blob of amorphous components.

The STI's 2.5-liter turbo retains its 305 bhp and characteristic flat-4 rasp. Nothing annoying in the long run, mind, but with a distinctive aural signature that's missing in lots of cars today. Ditto its 6-speed gearbox: It demands a tad of effort working it from slot to slot; again, nothing obtrusive, but rather a reminder that you're actually selecting things mechanical—namely gears—not just stirring around some wimpy lever.

Driven gently, there's nothing here to scare the horses, populace (or constabulary). But accelerate hard through the gears, and there's an intenseness, a feeling of urgency that allows you to imagine you're piloting the STI through a Special Stage on a challenging surface. Indeed, if the surface is challenging, there's driver-adjustable all-wheel drive with multi-mode settings for its center differential.

Last, for those of us larger than the average bear, the WRX STI's new wide-body styling affects the interior as well. It's plenty roomy and, what's more, its sport seats have bolsters that allow me to sit in, not atop, them. I haven't heard normal-shaped staff members complain as yet.

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